1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a moisture control module, a process for producing the moisture control module, and an apparatus for producing the moisture control module, particularly to a moisture control module which has a function to reduce or increase moisture in a gas permitted to flow in a hollow fiber and which is substantially free from air leakage and easy to produce, a process for producing such a moisture control module, and an apparatus for producing such a moisture control module.
2. Discussion of Background
Heretofore, for the purpose of e.g. measuring the concentration of carbon dioxide gas contained in human breath, a moisture control module has been used for a carbon dioxide gas analyzer. By removing moisture in the carbon dioxide gas by such a moisture control module, it becomes possible to measure the concentration with high precision. A schematic view of such a moisture control module 10 is shown in FIG. 9.
In FIG. 9, a hollow fiber 1 is formed in a tubular form so that a gas is permitted to flow through its center. And, on the exterior of this hollow fiber 1, a braid fiber 3 made of a resin and plaited into a braid is mounted. And, such a hollow fiber 1 and a braid fiber 3 are cut in a necessary length. The inner diameter of the hollow fiber 1 is preferably from 1.0 to 2.5 mm, more preferably from 1.0 to 1.5 mm. On the other hand, its outer diameter is preferably from 1.3 to 3.0 mm, more preferably from 1.3 to 1.8 mm.
Inside of the hollow fiber 1, a pipe 5 is inserted in the hollow fiber 1 so that it is projected in a prescribed length from the end of the hollow fiber 1 and braid fiber 3. The end of the hollow fiber 1 and braid fiber 3, and the circumference of the pipe 5, are integrally molded with a resin material by a joint structure 7 (this structure is described in detail, for example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Patent Document 1: U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,543
Patent Document 2: U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,201
With such a conventional moisture-control module 10, if the end of the braid fiber 3 is left to be non-treated, the fiber gets frayed simply by being touched. Further, when the joint structure 7 was molded by a mold, the fiber frayed from the braid fiber 3 was likely to stick out from the mold and thus cause a molding defect.
Further, in a state where the pipe 5 is inserted in the hollow fiber 1, the pipe 5 is free to move because of existence of a space. Even when the joint structure 7 was formed by integral molding with the resin material, if a space existed, air leakage was likely to result, thus leading to a production defect.